WO2015013209A1

WO2015013209A1 - Method and system for displaying remaining time of rental

Info

Publication number: WO2015013209A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/047476
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan M. NOGUEROL; Randall H. SIEFFERT
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2013-07-25
Filing date: 2014-07-21
Publication date: 2015-01-29

Abstract

A method and apparatus for generating and displaying information in a user interface is provided. A controller determines, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets and generates format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining. The format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets. A user interface generator generates a user interface including the media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING REMAINING TIME OF RENTAL

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 /972, 187 filed on March 28, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 /858,395 filed on July 25, 201 3, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to digital content systems and, more particularly, to a system, method and graphical user interface (GUI) that provides information associated with content accessible by a user.

BACKGROUND

Home entertainment systems, including television and media centers, are converging with the Internet and providing access to a large number of available sources of content, such as video, movies, TV programs, music, etc. This expansion in the number of available sources necessitates a new strategy for navigating a media interface associated with such systems and enabling access to certain portions of media content being consumed by the user.

With this expansion, a plethora of content distribution sources have populated the landscape. These content distribution sources selectively provide different types of multimedia content to users via various distribution channels including cable system video-on-demand (VOD) and via access agreements between the user and the content distributor. One example of an access agreement covered by this technology concerns the ability of a user to acquire temporary access to a particular piece of multimedia content. This is conventionally known as a rental agreement or pay-per-view agreement whereby a user pays a certain price which grants them access to a particular piece of multimedia content for a predetermined duration. With the advent of internet connected set top boxes being deployed by cable operators as well as the increased ability of other network connected devices that are connectable to a television, user's have greater access to various content distribution sources that distribute their content according to one of these types of access agreements. While the access to the number of pay-per view offerings have increased, there has not been an equal increase in usability improvements for users who consume the content from these providers under these arrangement. Often times, the amount of content acquired for viewing during particular time periods overwhelms the user who is unable to track all the terms and conditions associated with these pay arrangements. The result is the user (consumer) may not be able to enjoy the content due to expiration of the viewing term or other restriction associated with the arrangement between a user and particular content provider.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method of displaying information in a user interface is provided. The method includes determining, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets and generating format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets. A user interface is generated including the media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information.

In another embodiment, an apparatus for generating and displaying information in a user interface is provided. A controller determines, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets and generates format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets. A user interface generator generates a user interface including the media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described or become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote similar elements throughout the views: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for delivering video content in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary set-top box/digital video recorder (DVR) in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A is an exemplary tablet and/or second screen device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is an exemplary remote controller in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 a block diagram illustrating components for implementing the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary user interface display image generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A & 7B are exemplary user interface display images generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary user interface display image generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary user interface display image generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram detailing an implementation in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustrating concepts of the disclosure and are not necessarily the only possible configurations for illustrating the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that the elements shown in the figures may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software or combinations thereof. Preferably, these elements are implemented in a combination of hardware and software on one or more appropriately programmed general-purpose devices, which may include a processor, memory and input/output interfaces. Herein, the phrase "coupled" is defined to mean directly connected to or indirectly connected with through one or more intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include both hardware and software based components.

The present description illustrates the principles of the present disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within the scope of the disclosure. All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for instructional purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the block diagrams presented herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable media and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term "processor" or "controller" should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor ("DSP") hardware, read only memory ("ROM") for storing software, random access memory ("RAM"), and nonvolatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from the context.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function including, for example, a combination of circuit elements that performs that function or software in any form, including, therefore, firmware, microcode or the like, combined with appropriate circuitry for executing that software to perform the function. The disclosure as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.

Turning now to FIG. 1 , a block diagram of an embodiment of a system 100 for delivering content to a home or end user is shown. The content originates from a content source 102, such as a movie studio or production house. The content may be supplied in at least one of two forms. One form may be a broadcast form of content. The broadcast content is provided to the broadcast affiliate manager 104, which is typically a national broadcast service, such as the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), etc. The broadcast affiliate manager may collect and store the content, and may schedule delivery of the content over a delivery network, shown as delivery network 1 (106). Delivery network 1 (106) may include satellite link transmission from a national center to one or more regional or local centers. Delivery network 1 (106) may also include local content delivery using local delivery systems such as over the air broadcast, satellite broadcast, or cable broadcast. The locally delivered content is provided to a receiving device 108 in a user's home, where the content will subsequently be searched by the user. It is to be appreciated that the receiving device 108 can take many forms and may be embodied as a set top box/digital video recorder (DVR), a gateway, a modem, etc. Further, the receiving device 108 may act as entry point, or gateway, for a home network system that includes additional devices configured as either client or peer devices in the home network. A second form of content is referred to as special content. Special content may include content delivered as premium viewing, pay-per-view, or other content otherwise not provided to the broadcast affiliate manager, e.g., movies, video games or other video elements. In many cases, the special content may be content requested by the user. The special content may be delivered to a content manager 1 1 0. The content manager 1 10 may be a service provider, such as an Internet website, affiliated, for instance, with a content provider, broadcast service, or delivery network service. The content manager 1 1 0 may also incorporate Internet content into the delivery system. The content manager 1 1 0 may deliver the content to the user's receiving device 108 over a separate delivery network, delivery network 2 (1 1 2). Delivery network 2 (1 12) may include high-speed broadband Internet type communications systems. It is important to note that the content from the broadcast affiliate manager 104 may also be delivered using all or parts of delivery network 2 (1 1 2) and content from the content manager 1 1 0 may be delivered using all or parts of delivery network 1 (106). In addition, the user may also obtain content directly from the Internet via delivery network 2 (1 1 2) without necessarily having the content managed by the content manager 1 10.

Several adaptations for utilizing the separately delivered content may be possible. In one possible approach, the special content is provided as an augmentation to the broadcast content, providing other displays, purchase and merchandising options, enhancement material, etc. In another embodiment, the special content may completely replace some programming content provided as broadcast content. Finally, the special content may be completely separate from the broadcast content, and may simply be a media alternative that the user may choose to utilize. For instance, the special content may be a library of movies that are not yet available as broadcast content.

The receiving device 108 may receive different types of content from one or both of delivery network 1 and delivery network 2. The receiving device 1 08 processes the content, and provides a separation of the content based on user preferences and commands. The receiving device 1 08 may also include a storage device, such as a hard drive or optical disk drive, for recording and playing back audio and video content. Further details of the operation of the receiving device 108 and features associated with playing back stored content will be described below in relation to FIG. 2. The processed content is provided to a display device 1 14. The display device 1 14 may be a conventional 2-D type display or may be an advanced 3-D display. The receiving device 108 may also be interfaced to a second screen such as a touch screen control device 1 1 6. The touch screen control device 1 16 may be adapted to provide user control for the receiving device 108 and/or the display device 1 14. The touch screen device 1 1 6 may also be capable of displaying video content. The video content may be graphics entries, such as user interface entries (as discussed below), or may be a portion of the video content that is delivered to the display device 1 14. The touch screen control device 1 16 may interface to receiving device 108 using any well known signal transmission system, such as infra-red (IR) or radio frequency (RF) communications and may include standard protocols such as infra-red data association (IRDA) standard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the like, or any other proprietary protocols. Operations of touch screen control device 1 1 6 will be described in further detail below.

In the example of FIG. 1 , system 100 also includes a back end server 1 18 and a usage database 1 20. The back end server 1 18 includes a personalization engine that analyzes the usage habits of a user and makes recommendations based on those usage habits. The usage database 120 is where the usage habits for a user are stored. In some cases, the usage database 1 20 may be part of the back end server 1 1 8. In the present example, the back end server 1 1 8 (as well as the usage database 120) is connected to the system 100 and accessed through the delivery network 2 (1 12). In some embodiments, the usage database 120 and backend server 1 18 may be embodied in the receiving device 108. In some embodiments, the usage database 120 and back end server 1 18 may be embodied on a local area network to which the receiving device 108 is connected.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an embodiment of a receiving device 200 is shown. Receiving device 200 may operate similar to the receiving device described in FIG. 1 and may be included as part of a gateway device, modem, set-top box, or other similar communications device. The device 200 shown may also be incorporated into other systems including an audio device or a display device. In either case, several components necessary for complete operation of the system are not shown in the interest of conciseness, as they are well known to those skilled in the art. In one exemplary embodiment, the receiving device 200 may be a set top box coupled to a display device (e.g. television). The receiving device 200 may also be a portable device such as a tablet computer and/or a smartphone.

In the device 200 shown in FIG. 2, the content is received by an input signal receiver 202. The input signal receiver 202 may be one of several known receiver circuits used for receiving, demodulation, and decoding signals provided over one of the several possible networks including over the air, cable, satellite, Ethernet, fiber and phone line networks. The desired input signal may be selected and retrieved by the input signal receiver 202 based on user input provided through a control interface or touch panel interface 222. Touch panel interface 222 may include an interface for a touch screen device. Touch panel interface 222 may also be adapted to interface to a cellular phone, a tablet, a mouse, a high end remote or the like.

The decoded output signal is provided to an input stream processor 204.

The input stream processor 204 performs the final signal selection and processing, and includes separation of video content from audio content for the content stream. The audio content is provided to an audio processor 206 for conversion from the received format, such as a compressed digital signal, to an analog waveform signal. The analog waveform signal is provided to an audio interface 208 and further to the display device or audio amplifier. The audio interface 208 may provide a digital signal to an audio output device or display device using a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable or other audio interface such as via a Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (SPDIF). The audio interface may also include amplifiers for driving one more sets of speakers. The audio processor 206 also performs any necessary conversion for the storage of the audio signals.

The video output from the input stream processor 204 is provided to a video processor 210. The video signal may be one of several formats. The video processor 21 0 provides, as necessary, a conversion of the video content, based on the input signal format. The video processor 21 0 also performs any necessary conversion for the storage of the video signals.

A storage device 212 stores audio and video content received at the input. The storage device 21 2 allows later retrieval and playback of the content under the control of a controller 214 and also based on commands, e.g., navigation instructions such as fast-forward (FF) and rewind (RW), received from a user interface 21 6 and/or touch panel interface 222. The storage device 212 may be a hard disk drive, one or more large capacity integrated electronic memories, such as static RAM (SRAM), or dynamic RAM (DRAM), or may be an interchangeable optical disk storage system such as a compact disk (CD) drive or digital video disk (DVD) drive.

The converted video signal, from the video processor 210, either originating from the input or from the storage device 212, is provided to the display interface 21 8. The display interface 218 further provides the display signal to a display device of the type described above. The display interface 218 may be an analog signal interface such as red-green-blue (RGB) or may be a digital interface such as HDMI. It is to be appreciated that the display interface 218 will generate the various screens for presenting the search results (e.g., in a three dimensional grid, two dimensional array, and/or a shelf as will be described in more detail below).

The controller 214 is interconnected via a bus to several of the components of the device 200, including the input stream processor 204, audio processor 206, video processor 210, storage device 212, and a user interface 216. The controller 214 manages the conversion process for converting the input stream signal into a signal for storage on the storage device or for display. The controller 214 also manages the retrieval and playback of stored content. Furthermore, as will be described below, the controller 214 performs searching of content and the creation and adjusting of the grid, array and/or shelf display representing the content, either stored or to be delivered via the delivery networks, described above.

The controller 214 is further coupled to control memory 220 (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory, including RAM, SRAM, DRAM, ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), flash memory, electronically programmable ROM (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.) for storing information and instruction code for controller 214. Control memory 220 may store instructions for controller 214. Control memory 220 may also store a database of elements, such as graphic elements containing content. The database may be stored as a pattern of graphic elements, such as graphic elements containing content, various graphic elements used for generating a displayable user interface for display interface 21 8, and the like. The memory may store the graphic elements in identified or grouped memory locations and use an access or location table to identify the memory locations for the various portions of information related to the graphic elements. Additional details related to the storage of the graphic elements will be described below. Further, the implementation of the control memory 220 may include several possible embodiments, such as a single memory device or more than one memory circuit communicatively connected or coupled together to form a shared or common memory. Still further, the memory may be included with other circuitry, such as portions of bus communications circuitry, in a larger circuit.

Optionally, controller 214 can be adapted to extract metadata, criteria, characteristics or the like from audio and video media by using audio processor 206 and video processor 210, respectively. That is, metadata, criteria, characteristics or the like that is contained in the vertical blanking interval, auxiliary data fields associated with video, or in other areas in the video signal can be harvested by using the video processor 210 with controller 214 to generate metadata that can be used for functions such as generating an electronic program guide having descriptive information about received video, supporting an auxiliary information service, and the like. Similarly, the audio processor 206 working with controller 214 can be adapted to recognize audio watermarks that may be in an audio signal. Such audio watermarks can then be used to perform some action such as the recognition of the audio signal, provide security which identifies the source of an audio signal, or perform some other service. Furthermore, metadata, criteria, characteristics or the like, to support the actions listed above can come from a network source which are processed by controller 214.

FIGS. 3A and 3B represent two exemplary input devices, 300a and 300b (hereinafter referred to collectively as input device 300), for use with the system described in FIGS. 1 and 2. The user input device 300 enables operation of and interaction with the user interface process according to various embodiments. The input device may be used to initiate and/or select any function available to a user related to the acquisition, consumption, access and/or modification of multimedia content. FIG. 3A represents one exemplary tablet or touch panel input device 300a (which is the same as the touch screen device 1 1 6 shown in FIG.1 and/or is an integrated example of media device 108 and touch screen device 1 16). The touch panel device 300a may be interfaced via the user interface 216 and/or touch panel interface 222 of the receiving device 200 in FIG. 2. The touch panel device 300a allows operation of the receiving device or set top box based on hand movements, or gestures, and actions translated through the panel into commands for the set top box or other control device. This is achieved by the controller 214 generating a touch screen user interface including at least one user selectable image element enabling initiation of at least one operational command. The touch screen user interface may be pushed to the touch screen device 300a via the user interface 21 6 and/or the touch panel interface 222. In some embodiments, the touch screen user interface generated by the controller 214 may be accessible via a webserver executing on one of the user interface 216 and/or the touch panel interface 222. The touch panel 300 may serve as a navigational tool to navigate the grid display. In other embodiments, the touch panel 300a will additionally serve as the display device allowing the user to more directly interact with the navigation through the grid display of content. The touch panel device 300a may be included as part of a remote control device 300b containing more conventional control functions such as activator and/or actuator buttons such as is shown in FIG. 3B. The touch panel 300a can also include at least one camera element and/or at least one audio sensing element.

In one embodiment, the touch panel 300a employs a gesture sensing controller or touch screen enabling a number of different types of user interaction. The inputs from the controller are used to define gestures and the gestures, in turn, define specific contextual commands. The configuration of the sensors may permit defining movement of a user's fingers on a touch screen or may even permit defining the movement of the controller itself in either one dimension or two dimensions. Two-dimensional motion, such as a diagonal, and a combination of yaw, pitch and roll can be used to define any three-dimensional motions, such as a swing. Gestures are interpreted in context and are identified by defined movements made by the user. Depending on the complexity of the sensor system, only simple one dimensional motions or gestures may be allowed. For instance, a simple right or left movement on the sensor as shown here may produce a fast forward or rewind function. In addition, multiple sensors could be included and placed at different locations on the touch screen. For instance, a horizontal sensor for left and right movement may be placed in one spot and used for volume up/down, while a vertical sensor for up and down movement may be placed in a different spot and used for channel up/down. In this way specific gesture mappings may be used. For example, the touch screen device 300a may recognize alphanumeric input traces which may be automatically converted into alphanumeric text displayable on one of the touch screen device 300a or output via display interface 218 to a primary display device.

The system may also be operated using an input device 300b such as the one shown in FIG. 3B. The input device 300b may be used to interact with the user interfaces generated by the system and which are output for display by the display interface 21 8 to a primary display device (e.g. television, monitor, etc). The input device of FIG. 3B may be formed as a conventional remote control having a 12-button alphanumerical key pad 302b and a navigation section 304b including directional navigation buttons and a selector. The input device 300b may also include a set of function buttons 306b that, when selected, initiate a particular system function (e.g. menu, guide, DVR, etc). Additionally, the input device 300b may also include a set of programmable application specific buttons 308b that, when selected, may initiate a particularly defined function associated with a particular application executed by the controller 214. As discussed above, the input device may also include a touch panel 310b that may operate in a similar manner as discussed above in FIG. 3A. The depiction of the input device in FIG. 3B is merely exemplary and the input device may include any number and/or arrangement of buttons that enable a user to interact with the user interface process according to various embodiments. Additionally, it should be noted that users may use either or both of the input devices depicted and described in FIGS. 3A and 3B simultaneously and/or sequentially to interact with the system.

In another embodiment, the user input device may include at least one of an audio sensor and a visual sensor. In this embodiment, the audio sensor may sense audible commands issued from a user and translate the audible commands into functions to be executed by the user. The visual sensor may sense the user(s) presence and match user information of the sensed user(s) to stored visual data in the usage database 1 20 in FIG. 1 . Matching visual data sensed by the visual sensor enables the system to automatically recognize the user(s) present and retrieve any user profile information associated with those user(s). Additionally, the visual sensor may sense physical movements of at least one user present and translate those movements into control commands for controlling the operation of the system. In this embodiment, the system may have a set of pre-stored command gestures that, if sensed, enable the controller 214 to execute a particular feature or function of the system. An exemplary type of gesture command may include the user waving their hand in a rightward direction which may initiate a fast forward command or a next screen command or a leftward direction which may initiate a rewind or previous screen command depending on the current context. This description of physical gestures able to be recognized by the system is merely exemplary and should not be taken as limiting. Rather, this description is intended to illustrate the general concept of physical gesture control that may be recognized by the system and persons skilled in the art could readily understand that the controller may be programmed to specifically recognize any physical gesture and allow that gesture to be tied to at least one executable function of the system.

According to various embodiments, the present system generates user interface (Ul) display images that provide users with information associated with media assets that are accessible by a user at a given time. As used herein, a media asset may include any type of multimedia content that includes at least one of audio data, visual data, or audiovisual data. Additionally, a media asset may be formed as one or more data files in any file format able to be received, decoded, processed and output for display on a display device. Furthermore, a media asset may include a link to a location on a network from which the media asset may be selectively acquired and viewed in real-time (e.g. streaming video files). In another embodiment, a media asset may include a channel over which a plurality of different multimedia data is transmitted for viewing by a user. The above description of a media asset is provided for example only and should not be construed as limiting. Rather, a media asset as used herein may be any type of multimedia data that may be selected by a user for processing and display on a display device.

In particular, according to various embodiments, users may selectively enter into agreements that allow access to one or more media assets for a predetermined time period. For example, users may enter into rental agreements whereby, in exchange for consideration, the content provider (e.g. content distributor) makes a particular media asset available to the user for a predetermined period of time. As mentioned above, the manner in which the media asset is made available to the user is not germane to the present disclosure as any mechanism for making the particular media asset available to the user may be employed. Another example of an agreement enabling a user to gain access to media assets for a predetermined period of time is the well known one of pay-per-view. While much of the following description is directed to a rental agreement that provides a user with a predetermined period of time within which to access the particular media asset, it should be understood that any type of agreement that provides a user with access to one or more media assets for a predetermined period of time may be employed by the present system. Thus, in various embodiments, the system generates user interfaces that include at least one media asset indicator and at least one type of context data that identifies, to the user, information associated with an amount of time remaining for the user to access the at least one media asset. At least one implementation described in this document presents movies/videos/music which have been rented by a user. The movies, videos and/or music may be displayed in the user interface using a media asset indicator. The user interface shows when a time period for rental of a movie expires (e.g. context data) by listing time and/or color warnings. Various implementations are adapted to be used in different environments or applications. Some examples include, but are not limited to, over the top services, media asset description, media asset rental, and streaming media. The implementation according to various embodiments addresses one or more of a variety of problems such as providing a user with an indication of when a rented media asset expires.

In one exemplary embodiment, the present system generates a user interface displaying different media assets that can be purchased or rented from a media asset service such as, for example, M-GO™. Typically, a user who rents media assets may not remember when a rental period expires, particularly if multiple rented media assets expire at different times. This can present a problem for the user. Various embodiments may address that problem, by providing a user interface with a single view of rented media assets and rental period expiration information. Embodiments for implementing the principles of the present disclosure may be performed on a television or other display, in conjunction with a processor in a television or a set-top box. Various other gateways, servers, routers, and computers, for example, are used in place of the set-top box or television to provide the information for display. Certain implementations perform the processing functions largely at a head-end or service provider location, and other implementations share the processing between local devices (for example, a set-top box or a tablet storing certain information in an app, such as, for example, an M-GO™ app) and remote devices (for example, a Netflix™ service provider).

A block diagram detailing an exemplary set of components for implementing the system according to various embodiments is shown in FIG. 4. The system includes a remote control ("RC") 402, a receiving device (e.g. set-top box) 404 and a display device 406. The receiving device 404 may include all or a portion of the components described above and identified as receiving device 200 in FIG. 2. In operation, the receiving device 404 selectively acquires data representing at least one media asset that will be available for access and viewing by a user for a predetermined amount of time. The receiving device 404 operates in response to user input provided by a user via the remote control 402. The remote control 402 may at least be any of the remote control devices discussed above in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The remote control 402 enables the user to provide input and otherwise interact with the system according to various embodiments. Once media asset data is acquired by the receiving device 404, the receiving device 404 may process the media asset data for output to display device 406. The display device 406 may be any type of device able to output media asset data and may include at least any of the display interface 218 for display on display device 1 14 (FIG. 1 ), the user interface for output to the user input device 300b (FIG. 3B), and the touch panel interface for output to a touch sensitive display device 300a (FIG. 3A). The depiction of these components as separate is described for purposes of example only and persons skilled in the art would understand that the remote control 402, receiving device 404 and display device 406 may be embodied as a single device or a device that combines two of the three components such as the display screen being incorporated into the remote control. The receiving device (STB) 404 is communicatively coupled to the remote control (RC) 402 and to the display device (screen) 406. The receiving device 404 is also communicatively coupled to at least one content provider 410 via a communications network 408. The communications network 408 may be one of a local area network or a wide area network such as the Internet. The content provider 41 0 may include a plurality of content providers each having a set of media assets, each media asset being viewable for a predetermined amount of time. Exemplary content providers include but are not limited to M-Go™, Amazon™, Netflix™, iTunes™, etc. In general operation, a user employs the remote control 402 to interact with user interfaces generated by the receiving device 404 which are then displayed on display device 406. A respective user interface generated and displayed on the display device 406 enables a user to access a library of media assets of particular content providers 41 0 and purchase access to at least one of the media assets, the purchased access being available to the user for a predetermined amount of time. The receiving device 404 stores information associated with the media assets acquired from the content provider 410 and uses that information to generate user interface displays that are output to the display device 408 for presenting the information associated with the media assets to the user.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the receiving device 404 that includes certain processors and/or modules according to various embodiments. The receiving device 404 shown in FIG. 5 may include any or all of the components of the receiving device 200 described above with respect to FIG. 2. Moreover, despite the receiving device 404 being shown including certain individual components and/or modules, each of the components and/or modules may be embodied as part of the controller 214 in FIG. 2. The individual components and/or modules shown in FIG. 5 may be electrically coupled to the controller 214 in FIG. 2 as well as to other elements of FIG. 2 as will be discussed below. In another embodiment, the individual components and/or modules of FIG. 5 may be a standalone circuit included in any electronic device able to generate user interface display images including at least one data field that receives input data from a user.

A tracking processor 502 includes all necessary computer implemented instructions to track any number of media assets acquired by a user and generate media asset tracking data by determining when the access to each of the acquired media assets is set to expire. The media asset tracking data is used to generate at least one user interface notifying the user as to when the acquired media assets will expire resulting in the user no longer having access to the respective media asset. It should be noted that the acquisition of various media assets from various content providers is known in the art and the system may acquire media assets from any content provider according to any type of agreement whereby the user furnishes consideration (e.g. money, reward points, etc) to the content provider in order to have access to a particular media asset for a predetermined amount of time. These access agreements may cover an individual media asset such as a movie as well as access to a set of media assets such as having predetermined access to a streaming (or other) channel that broadcasts media assets to the user. These are merely provided for example only and, according to various embodiments, the system can generate media asset tracking data for any type of media asset having an access restriction associated therewith.

The tracking processor 502 is coupled to a memory 506 for storing media asset information for each media asset acquired by the user. The media asset information may include classification information identifying at least one of a current set of media assets acquired by the user and which the user may still access and an expired set of media assets that were previously acquired and which the user may no longer access. Media asset information may also include characteristic information identifying at least one of an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset, an amount of the media asset that has been consumed by the user, a cost associated with acquiring the media asset, a cost associated with extending a time frame for accessing the media asset, a user selectable identifier that identifies the media asset, and a media asset information identifier that identifies at least one characteristic associated with the particular media asset. The tracking processor 502 uses the media asset information including classification information and characteristic information when generating the media tracking information that provides information to the user regarding the ability of the user to access the various media assets. In one embodiment, the media assets themselves may also be stored in memory 506. In another embodiment, the acquired media assets may be stored in a further memory module (not shown). In yet another embodiment, the memory 506 may store location information identifying a location on a network from where the particular media asset may be acquired (e.g. by streaming). The location information may, for example, include a media asset link providing a network address at which the media asset is stored and may be accessed by downloading and/or streaming. The location information may also include channel information identifying a frequency at which the media asset data is being broadcast enabling the user to tune to the particular channel to access the media asset. A sensor module 504 is coupled to the tracking processor 502 and senses input signals generated by one of user input device 300a in FIG. 3A and/or user input device 300b in FIG. 3b. The input signals may include a media asset request data signal that requests a status associated with the various media assets that have been acquired by the receiving device 404 in response to a previous media asset acquisition request generated by the user. The media asset acquisition request may include any type of input and/or interaction that results in the receiving device acquiring at least one media asset having a predetermined time during which the at least one media asset can be accessed by the user. The media asset request data signal is provided to the tracking processor 502 which then generates media asset tracking information for the various media assets acquired by the receiving device 404.

The tracking processor 502 generates media asset tracking information by querying the media asset information stored in memory 506 and identifying the class of each media asset acquired by the system to determine whether they are a current media asset that the user may access or an expired media asset that the user can no longer access. For media assets determined to be currently accessible media assets, the tracking processor 502 further determines the characteristics associated with each currently accessible media asset including, at least, an amount of time remaining to access the respective media asset. Based on the media characteristic information and the media classification information, the tracking processor 502 generates format information for use in formatting a user interface for presenting the media asset tracking information to a user. The format information includes information used to provide at least one of a visual and audible notification to a user concerning an amount of time remaining for accessing a particular media asset. The format information generated by the tracking processor 502 may also include data representing at least one of a order in which the media assets are to be displayed, a position of the respective media asset in a user interface, relationship information identifying a time-based relationship of the particular media asset to other media assets, and a visual cue for one of a media asset identifier and media information identifier. Exemplary visual cues used to characterize one of the media asset identifier and media information identifier may include at least one of a color, a pattern, and shading. The visual cue which may be applied to a particular media asset being displayed in a user interface display depends on one of an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset. For example, the tracking processor 502 assigns a first color (e.g. red) to a first media asset having an expiration time below a threshold time value indicating that a user may have a limited amount of time remaining to access the media asset. In this example, a second media asset may be assigned a second color (e.g. green) if the expiration time exceeds a threshold time value indicating less urgency to access the second media asset at the current time. Similarly, instead of, or in addition to formatting media assets using different colors, the tracking processor 502 may frame the media asset in the user interface with a border having a predetermined pattern which will further notify the user as to an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset. The above description concerning the application of visual cues based on a single time threshold is provided for example only and the system may include a plurality of thresholds and use any number of visual cues for media asset identifiers and media information identifiers depending on whether or not the expiration time exceeds or falls below the particular threshold.

In one exemplary embodiment, the tracking processor 502 may generate formatting data that automatically positions media assets having the least amount of time remaining for access in a position adjacent one edge of the user interface and further position other media assets with greater access times to be positioned progressively towards an opposite edge of the user interface based upon respective access times. For example, media assets may extend across the Ul from the left side to right side. In this example, the media assets having the least amount of time are positioned adjacent the left side and extend progressively across the Ul until the right edge of the Ul indicating the media asset positioned adjacent thereto has the greatest amount of access time remaining. This ordering information is described for purpose of example only and persons skilled in the art will understand that the ordering information may include multiple rows and/or columns in order to compensate for the number of media assets that need to be shown in a particular Ul. Additionally, the particular type of ordering information included in the format information may be device specific such that one type of order is used for display on a television but a second different type of order is used for display on a touch screen display device (e.g. tablet).

A user interface (Ul) generator 508 is controlled by the tracking processor 502 to generate user interface display images including media asset information that identifies an amount of time remaining to access each media asset displayed therein. The Ul generator 508 generates this Ul using the formatting information generated by the tracking processor 502, as discussed above. In some embodiments, the Ul generator 508 may generate formatting information using information provided from the tracking processor 502. The Ul generator 508 generates the display image and outputs the generated user interface display image including at least one data field enabling user entry of data to at least one of the display interface 218 for display on display device 1 14 (FIG. 1 ), the user interface for output to the user input device 300b (FIG. 3B), and a touch panel interface for output to a touch sensitive display device 300a (FIG. 3A). From these different interfaces, a user may view and interact with the various media assets including information identifying an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset. In one embodiment, when the Ul is displayed on a display device via the display interface 218, the user may employ remote control 300b to navigate among the media assets in the Ul using navigation buttons and/or alphanumeric keys of the remote control 300b. If the display device 1 14 is a touch sensitive display device, a user may select and/or interact with various media assets by touching a position on the screen associated with the media asset and entering the data using one of a gesture based input and/or a virtual keyboard that is also selectively displayed either within the Ul or overlaid on the Ul. This other manner of inputting data into data fields is also applicable if the device on which the Ul is output is a touch sensitive display device 300a. In another embodiment, the tracking processor 502 may also identify media assets that have expired and can no longer be accessed by the user. The tracking processor 502 may combine the expired media assets with the current media assets to generate formatting information for a composite Ul that includes both current and expired media assets. In this embodiment, the expired media assets may have information identifying how long the particular media asset has been expired. This information may control an amount of time that the expired media asset remains stored in the memory 506. The formatting information for the expired media assets, similar to the current media assets, may be formatted according to certain visual cues thereby providing the user with a notification as to how much longer the expired media asset will remain stored in memory 506. For example, the tracking processor 502 may set retention rules (e.g. a predetermined number of days) that govern how long particular media assets remain in memory 506 after the expiration of their predetermined access time period. Thus, as the retention time threshold approaches, the tracking processor 502 may selectively generate formatting information for the expired media assets to identify, to the user, that the expired media asset is approaching the retention time period, will be removed from memory 506 and will no longer will appear in any Ul generated by the Ul generator 508. This notifies a user that, should the user wish to re-access the particular media asset from within the media asset Ul, the user will need to re-access the expiring media asset soon.

In a further embodiment, by notifying the user of expired media assets, the user may select one of the media asset identifier and media information identifier for a particular expired media asset and initiate a re-access procedure. Using one of the input devices 300a and/or 300b, the sensor module 504 may sense a signal input by a user selecting one of the expired media assets. The tracking processor 502 receives the sensed signal and determines that the user has selected an expired media asset. The tracking processor 502 controls the Ul generator 508 to generate a re-access user interface that enables the user to re- purchase access to the expired media asset. In one embodiment, the re-access user interface provides at least one user selectable image element of tillable data fields that enables the user to provide at least one of the same amount of consideration paid for the original access or a portion of the consideration paid for original access to the media asset. In one embodiment, when generating the re- access user interface, the tracking processor 502 queries the memory 506 to determine an amount of the media asset that was consumed prior to the expiration date. In this embodiment, the tracking processor 502 may determine that a user partially completed viewing a movie and identify, by a percentage of the total media asset, how much of the movie the user viewed. The tracking processor 502 may use this information for determining a re-access price based on an amount of the media asset that was consumed. For example, if a user viewed 70% of a movie (determined by subtracting the amount of time the media asset was viewed from the total time of the media asset), the tracking processor 502 may generate the re-access user interface to enable the user to re-access the remaining, unviewed portion of the media asset based on a prorated share of the original cost paid to access the media asset.

In another embodiment, the tracking processor 502 may generate a re- access user interface that enables the user to selectively re-access particular expired media assets at a predetermined discount from their original price. For example, the tracking processor 502 may execute re-access rules to generate a re-access user interface that enables the user to re-access expired media assets for a discount (e.g. 25% off original access price). The re-access rules implemented by the tracking processor 502 may be provided directly from the content provider and function as global re-access rules for all media assets from a particular content provider. The re-access rules may be media asset-specific and the tracking processor 502 may parse the particular media asset to determine the re-access rule to be applied for that particular media asset.

In a further embodiment, the receiving device 404 may include a communication interface 510 coupled to the tracking processor 502. The communication interface 510 enables the receiving device 404 to communicate with any third party electronic device able to receive electronic communications. The communication interface 510 may include any type of communication protocol enabling communication with at least one of, but not limited to, a cellular network, wifi network, wired network and the internet. In this embodiment, the tracking processor 502 can periodically query the media asset data stored in the memory to determine an amount of time remaining to access each media asset. Upon determining that the amount of time remaining to access a particular media asset is below a threshold value (e.g., less than 24 hours), the tracking processor 502 may generate a notification message notifying a user about the time remaining to access that particular media asset. The notification message (e.g., email, text message, etc.) may be provided to the communication interface 51 0 for communication to a third party device (e.g., personal computer, cellular phone, tablet, etc.). The notification message may also be provided to the content provider enabling the content provider to further track media asset access and use the tracking information to generate additional offers to the user to access other content. While the process of generating a notification message is described in conjunction with current media assets where the access time has not yet expired, it should be understood that the same principles may be implemented for media assets that have already expired.

In another exemplary embodiment, the memory 506 may include user profile data including rules defining when a notification message is to be generated. The user profile data may specify an amount of time prior to the expiration of the current media asset (or removal from the system of the expired media asset) at which the notification message should be communicated to the user. The user profile data may also specify the manner by which the communication interface 510 is to communicate the notification message including, but not limited to, cellular phone call, email message, text message, or an API that provides a notification message to an application executing on a computing device.

It should be noted that any of the above embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination with one another. FIGS. 6 - 10 depict exemplary user interfaces illustrating various embodiments. The exemplary user interfaces shown in FIG. 6 - 1 0 may be generated by the Ul generator 508 discussed above in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 presents a user interface 600 that displays the poster art (e.g. media asset identifiers) of at least three media assets 61 2a, 61 2b and 612c that were rented from a media asset service (e.g. content provider). Hereinafter, media assets will be referred to generally using reference numeral 612. Without elaborating on how media assets 612 are rented via a server/media asset service, media assets 612 are displayed with their corresponding poster art used as a media asset identifier. The use of poster art as a media asset identifier for each media asset is described for purpose of example only and any means for identifying a particular media asset may be used by the tracking processor 502 (FIG. 5) when generating the format information for creating the Ul 600 shown herein. The user interface 600 of FIG. 6 includes a current media asset section 61 0, an expired media asset section 620 and a selected media asset section 630. The current media asset section 610 includes at least one media asset 612 having a corresponding media asset identifier. Each of the at least one media assets 612 also includes an associated media information identifier referred to generally using reference numeral 614. The media information identifier provides characteristic information associated with its respective media asset. In this example, the media information identifier provides information indicating an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset. As shown in section 61 0 of user interface 600, a first media asset 61 2a (Escape from Planet Earth) includes media information identifier 614a that indicates that the rental period expires in 6 hours. A second media asset 612b (Parker) is displayed in section 610 and includes media information identifier 614b that indicate that the rental period expires in 22 hours. Section 610 also includes a third media asset 61 2c (The Hobbit) having media information identifier 614c indicating that the rental period expires in 3 days. The depiction of three media assets is described for purpose of example only and may include more or less media assets depending on various agreements between the user and the content provider. Additionally, the expiration duration of media assets 612a - 612c is listed horizontally across the display from the shortest remaining rental period access duration (left most) to the longest remaining rental period access duration (right most). The positioning and arrangement of the media assets in section 610 is based on format information generated by the tracking processor 502. The formatting information may also cause one of the media asset identifier and an area surrounding the media asset identifier to be modified using different colors as a way for showing the status of different media assets and when their rental periods expire. For example, a media asset with an expiration within 12 hours will be displayed with a red tinged hue for the poster art, and/or is presented with a red background and/or red text, a media asset that expires within a 1 2-48 hour window can be displayed with a yellow tinged hue for the poster art, and/or a yellow background and/or yellow text, and every other media asset rental can have the poster art displayed as normal, with a green hue, or with a green background and/or green text. While this modification of the media asset identifier is described to notify the user of the expiration status, it should be understood that the media information identifier 614 may be modified in the same manner. For example, the entire media information identifier 614 may be displayed in a different color depending on the expiration period. In some embodiments, in addition to changing the color of the media information identifier, the format information may cause a portion of the media information identifier to be one color with the background being a different color. For example, text being displayed as part of the media information identifier may be displayed in one color while the background of the media information identifier may be displayed in a different color thereby highlighting, to the user, the relevant information regarding the expiration of the rental period.

The expired media asset section 620 includes a list of expired media assets, generally referred to using reference numeral 622. The expired media assets 622 are media assets that the user had access to at one point in time but can no longer access. In this embodiment, the expired media asset section 620 includes expired media assets 622a - 622d. The arrangement, positioning and display of the expired media assets 622 may be similar to the manner described above with respect to media assets 612 based on an amount of time that has passed since the expiration of the media assets 622. The user interface 600 may also include the selected media asset section

630 which provides the user with the ability to selectively consume a particular media asset. The selected media asset section 630 includes an identifier section 632. The media asset section 630 includes a plurality of media asset identifiers 632 associated with a selected media asset. The selected media asset section 630 also includes a player section 634 that includes at least one user selectable image element enabling the user to view and/or otherwise consume the selected media asset 632 in a known manner. A user wishing to view a particular media asset may use one of the user input devices 300a and 300b (FIG. 3A & 3B) to navigate between the various media asset identifiers 61 2 and expired media asset identifiers 622. As shown herein, the user interface includes a selection image element 616 that may be moved between media assets 612, expired media assets 622 and the player section 634. The selection image element 616 causes a predetermined region around one of the media asset identifier 612, expired media asset identifier 622 and user selectable image element of the player section 634 to be modified and displayed in a different manner than the background of the rest of the user interface 600. This differentiation enables the user to easily see where the selection image element 616 is positioned in the user interface 600. By activating the selection image element 61 6, certain procedures are executed by the system that may one of enable viewing of selected content and purchase additional access to expired content. As shown herein, the selection image element 616 has been activated for media asset 61 2b resulting in the media asset identifier 61 2b being displayed in the identifier section 632 of the selected media asset section 630. Moreover, the player section 634 enables the user to have the selected media asset output for display on a display device.

Various implementations also include an optional feature in which an offer is made to a user to extend their rental. The rental can be for varying amounts of time, and can cost varying amounts of money. In one implementation, the extension is for another full rental period, and the cost is the full amount of the previous rental. In another implementation, a user is provided the opportunity to pay prorated for the part of a media asset that the user did not consume by the time a rental period terminates. For example, if a user watched 70% of a movie, the user is provided the option of paying 30% of the previous rental price in order to finish the 30% of the movie that the user did not watch. This can be done by, for example, keeping track of how much of a rental a user consumes, keeping track of the price of such a rental, and adjusting the rental price for a new period based on such consumption.

This embodiment is depicted in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Should the selection image element 616 be activated over one of the various expired image elements, the tracking processor 502 causes a re-access user interface to be displayed. FIG. 7A and 7B depict two embodiments of re-access user interfaces 700a and 700b, respectively. FIGS. 7A and 7B each include the media asset identifier 61 2b of the media asset selected via selection image element 61 6 along with media information identifier 614b. As shown herein, the media asset identifier 614b provides information about an access duration of the media asset. Re-access Uls 700a and 700b also include a secondary media information section 702 that provides at least one of information identifying the expiration date of the media asset and consumption data identifying an amount of the media asset consumed by the user prior to expiration. A re-access section 71 0 is also displayed in user interfaces 700a and 700b. The re-access section includes a term section 712a in FIG. 7A and 712b in FIG. 7B. The term section provides a user with information defining the re-access terms which, if agreed to, will allow the user to re-access the expired media asset. In FIG. 7A, the re-access term section 712a enables the user to re-access the expired media asset by paying "$3.99" for an additional "3 days" of access. This may represent the full price paid by the user when access was originally purchased. In FIG. 7B, the re-access term section 71 2b enables the user to re-access the expired media asset by paying "$1 .99" and indicates to the user that the price represents a 50% discount from the original price. In the embodiment where the re-access terms are based on a portion of the original access price, the amount of the portion required to re-access may be based on one of prorated share based on an amount of the media access that was consumed prior to expiration and a predetermined percentage discount applied to the original access price. The terms displayed in either term section 71 2a of FIG. 7A and/or term section 712b in FIG. 7B is described for purposes of example only and any terms enabling re-access to expired media assets may be stored in memory 506 and used by the tracking processor 502 to generate the re-access user interfaces 700a and/or 700b. The re-access section 710 also include a re-access image element 714, activation of which enables the user to re-access the expired media asset based on the terms shown in term section 712a and/or 71 2b. Additionally, an ignore image element 716 is also provided and, in response to activation thereof, the system cancels the re-access procedure and may revert back to the user interface 600 shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates another exemplary user interface 800 depicting currently available media assets. In FIG. 8, the label "Rentals" indicates that four movies are currently rented. For the top left movie, "Jack Readier", six hours remain on the rental period, which is indicated by the words "6 hours left" below the "Jack Readier" movie. Because the remaining time on the rental period is less than 1 2 hours, the alphanumeric characters "6 hours left" can be displayed, for example, in an attention-grabbing color, such as red. The other three movies, "Prometheus", "Brave", and "Jack the Giant ... " have 12, 20, and 24 hours, respectively, left on their rental periods. Accordingly, those fields can be shown in a standard gray color. Another embodiment, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 8, is shown in FIG. 9 whereby the media assets are depicted in the same manner but have regions surround each media asset modified to provide additional visual cues indicating an amount of time remaining to access the respective media asset. Each media asset 612 has a region 902 of a predetermined number of pixels that extends around the media asset identifier 612. The pixels in the region 902 may be modified to display a visual cue to the user. The pixels may have a different visual characteristic than both the media asset identifier 612 and a background of the user interface 900. The visual characteristic for region 902 may be based on an amount of time remaining to access the particular media asset. For example, if a media asset expires in 12 hours or less, the region 902 may include a first visual characteristic (e.g. pattern, color, shading, etc) whereas if the media asset expires in more than 12 hours, the region 902 may include a second visual characteristic different from the first visual characteristic. This is described for purposes of example only and it should be understood that any number of visual characteristics may be employed. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram detailing an exemplary algorithm according to various embodiments. The algorithm details a method of displaying information in a user interface. In step 1 002, a controller determines, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets. In step 1004, the controller generates format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets. In one embodiment, the controller may include the tracking processor (502 in FIG. 5). Additionally, this determination may be periodically updated by the controller to provide proper notification to the user of the updated remaining access time.

In one embodiment, the format information generated in step 1004 may include ordering information based on the determined amount of time remaining for each of the at least two media assets. In this embodiment, the ordering information identifies the position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the ordering information positioning the media asset identifiers in one of an ascending order and descending order within the user interface. In another embodiment, the algorithm may include comparing, by the controller, the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold and generating one of a first message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being below a first threshold, a second message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold, and a third message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being above the second threshold. In this embodiment, one of the generated messages may be communicated to a user via a communication interface (510 in FIG. 5).

In a further embodiment, the algorithm may include comparing the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold and modifying at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media asset identifiers based in the comparison such that the modified media asset identifier is caused to be displayed in the generated user interface. The controller may cause the at least one visual characteristic of the media asset identifiers to be modified in one of in a first manner in response to the comparison being below a first threshold, in a second manner in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold, and in a third manner in response to the comparison being above the second threshold.

In step 1006, the controller may associate a media information identifier with each of the media assets, the media information identifier including data representing the determined amount of time remaining to access the media asset. In step 1008, a user interface generator generates a user interface including the media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information. In one embodiment, step 1006 may include modifying a visual characteristic of the media asset identifiers based on the determined amount of time remaining.

In step 1010, the controller determines whether there are media assets that have expired. If the result of the query in step 1010 is negative, the method reverts back to step 1002. If the result of the query in step 1010 is positive, the method continues at step 101 2 such that the controller identifies ones of the at least two media assets having an access time that has expired as an expired media asset and, in step 1014, determines an amount of time that has passed since expiration of access for each expired media asset. The controller, in step 1016, generates format information for each expired media asset based on the determined amount of time since expiration, the format information further including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each expired media asset. In step 101 8, a user interface is generated based on the formatting information including the at least two media assets and the expired media assets. The user interface generated in step 1018 enables a user to selectively re-access any of the expired media assets as well as obtain access to the non-expired media assets. It should be noted that the activities performed in step 1 010 - 1 018 may be performed simultaneously with steps 1002 - 1008 or prior to steps 1002 - 1008. Thus, the ordering of the steps in FIG. 10 should not be construed as limiting the manner in which these principles are implemented.

In one embodiment, the user interface generated in step 1018 enables selection of the expired media asset which results in the user interface generator generating a further user interface including at least one term governing re- access to the expired media asset thereby enabling a user to re-access to the expired media asset upon agreement to the at least one term. In this embodiment, the at least one term governing re-access includes a cost for re- accessing the expired media asset. The cost for re-accessing being based on at least one of a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset, a predetermined discount to a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset, and an amount of the media asset consumed prior to expiration of access time.

As described, various implementations provide the duration of time remaining on a rental. Other implementations, however, display the actual termination time of the rentals by, for example, listing "Expires Midnight today" or "Expires Noon on Tuesday". Other implementations merely indicate the expirations in categories, such as, for example, "Expires Tomorrow" or "Expires Tonight". These and other different ways to express the remaining duration or the expiration time provide that information in ways that are useful to different segments of users, and in ways that are useful on different devices. For example, if a device is not refreshed automatically, then it is often more useful to display the actual expiration time (for example, "Midnight tonight") rather than the time remaining (for example, "6 hours") because the "6 hours" will not be accurate if the display is not refreshed for 2 hours.

As described, the poster art for movies is often used to display the media asset. However, other information can be used. Regardless of what information is used, that information can be presented in a number of different layouts. One such layout is to display the poster art in an arrangement of rows and columns as shown, variously, in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9. Other implementations display the poster art (or other information) with different sizes, using larger sizes for those media assets whose rental periods expire sooner. Yet other implementations display the poster art (or other information) with different colors, using specific colors for different time ranges such as described above with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9. Further implementations display the poster art (or other information) by stacking the poster art in a partially overlapping manner with those media assets nearer to the top of the stack having shorter durations remaining on the rental period.

It should be noted that variations of the described implementations, as well as additional applications, are contemplated and are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, features and aspects of described implementations may be adapted for other implementations.

Several of the implementations refer to features that are automated or that are performed automatically. Variations of such implementations, however, may not be automated and/or may not perform all of part of the features automatically.

Reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "one implementation" or "an implementation" of the present principles, as well as other variations thereof, mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" or "in one implementation" or "in an implementation", as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Additionally, this application may refer to "determining" various pieces of information. Determining the information may include one or more of, for example, estimating the information, calculating the information, predicting the information, or retrieving the information from memory. Further, this application may refer to "accessing" various pieces of information. Accessing the information may include one or more of, for example, receiving the information, retrieving the information (for example, memory), storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

Additionally, this application may refer to "receiving" various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with "accessing", intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information may include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory). Further, "receiving" is typically involved, in one way or another, during operations such as, for example, storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

This application refers to "encoders" and "decoders" in a variety of implementations. It should be clear that an encoder can include, for example, one or more (or no) source encoders and/or one or more (or no) channel encoders, as well as one or more (or no) modulators. Similarly, it should be clear that a decoder can include, for example, one or more (or no) modulators as well as one or more (or no) channel encoders and/or one or more (or no) source encoders.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following"/", "and/or", and "at least one of, for example, in the cases of "A/B", "A and/or B" and "at least one of A and B", is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of "A, B, and/or C" and "at least one of A, B, and C" and "at least one of A, B, or C", such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

Additionally, many implementations may be implemented in a processor, such as, for example, a post-processor or a pre-processor. The processors discussed in this application do, in various implementations, include multiple processors (sub-processors) that are collectively configured to perform, for example, a process, a function, or an operation. Additionally, various components include a processor and/or perform processing functions. Indeed, various components include multiple sub-processors that are collectively configured to perform the operations of that component. Such components include, for example, an encoder, a decoder, a display engine, a remote control interface module, a transmitter, and a receiver.

The implementations described herein may be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if only discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (for example, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed may also be implemented in other forms (for example, an apparatus or program). An apparatus may be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. The methods may be implemented in, for example, an apparatus such as, for example, a processor, which refers to processing devices in general, including, for example, a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device. Processors also include communication devices, such as, for example, computers, cell phones, tablets, portable/personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), and other devices that facilitate communication of information between end-users. Implementations of the various processes and features described herein may be embodied in a variety of different equipment or applications. Examples of such equipment include an encoder, a decoder, a post-processor, a preprocessor, a video coder, a video decoder, a video codec, a web server, a television, a set-top box, a router, a gateway, a modem, a laptop, a personal computer, a tablet, a cell phone, a PDA, a remote control, and other communication devices. As should be clear, the equipment may be mobile and even installed in a mobile vehicle. Further, such equipment typically includes or interfaces to a display device of some sort, including for example, a screen of a computer or laptop, a tablet screen, a television screen, and a smart phone screen.

Additionally, the methods may be implemented by instructions being performed by a processor, and such instructions (and/or data values produced by an implementation) may be stored on a processor-readable medium such as, for example, an integrated circuit, a software carrier or other storage device such as, for example, a hard disk, a compact diskette ("CD"), an optical disc (such as, for example, a DVD, often referred to as a digital versatile disc or a digital video disc, or a Blu-Ray disc), a random access memory ("RAM"), a read-only memory ("ROM"), a USB thumb drive, or some other storage device. The instructions may form an application program tangibly embodied on a processor-readable medium. Instructions may be, for example, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination. Instructions may be found in, for example, an operating system, a separate application, or a combination of the two. A processor may be characterized, therefore, as, for example, both a device configured to carry out a process and a device that includes a processor-readable medium (such as a storage device) having instructions for carrying out a process. Further, a processor-readable medium may store, in addition to or in lieu of instructions, data values produced by an implementation. As will be evident to one of skill in the art, implementations may produce a variety of signals formatted to carry information that may be, for example, stored or transmitted. The information may include, for example, instructions for performing a method, or data produced by one of the described implementations. For example, a signal may be formatted to carry as data the rules for writing or reading syntax, or to carry as data the actual syntax-values generated using the syntax rules. Such a signal may be formatted, for example, as an electromagnetic wave (for example, using a radio frequency portion of spectrum) or as a baseband signal. The formatting may include, for example, encoding a data stream and modulating a carrier with the encoded data stream. The information that the signal carries may be, for example, analog or digital information. The signal may be transmitted over a variety of different wired or wireless links, as is known. The signal may be stored on a processor-readable medium.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, elements of different implementations may be combined, supplemented, modified, or removed to produce other implementations. Additionally, one of ordinary skill will understand that other structures and processes may be substituted for those disclosed and the resulting implementations will perform at least substantially the same function(s), in at least substantially the same way(s), to achieve at least substantially the same result(s) as the implementations disclosed. Accordingly, these and other implementations are contemplated by this application.

Claims

1 . A method of displaying information in a user interface, the method comprising:

determining, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets;

generating format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets; and

generating a user interface including media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

associating a media information identifier with each of the media assets, the media information identifier including data representing the determined amount of time remaining to access the media asset.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the format information includes ordering information based on the determined amount of time remaining for each of the at least two media assets.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ordering information identifies the position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the ordering information positioning the media asset identifiers in one of an ascending order and descending order within the user interface.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

modifying a visual characteristic of the media asset identifiers based on the determined amount of time remaining.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

identifying ones of the at least two media assets having an access time that has expired as an expired media asset;

determining an amount of time that has passed since expiration of access for each expired media asset;

generating format information for each expired media asset based on the determined amount of time since expiration, the format information further including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each expired media asset; and

generating a user interface based on the formatting information including the at least two media assets and the expired media assets.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising

enabling selection of the expired media asset;

generating a further user interface including at least one term governing re-access to the expired media asset; and

enabling a user to re-access to the expired media asset upon agreement to the at least one term.

8. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one term includes a cost for re-accessing the expired media asset, the cost being based on at least one of a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset; a predetermined discount to a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset; and an amount of the media asset consumed prior to expiration of access time.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

comparing the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold;

generating a first message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being below a first threshold;

generating a second message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold; generating a third message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being above the second threshold; and

communicating one of the first, second or third messages to a user.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising

comparing the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold;

modifying at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a first manner in response to the comparison being below a first threshold;

modifying at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a second manner in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold;

modifying at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a third manner in response to the comparison being above the second threshold.

1 1 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising

periodically updating the determined amount of time remaining for each media asset.

12. An apparatus for generating and displaying information in a user interface comprising:

a controller that

determines, for at least two media assets, an amount of time remaining to access each of the at least two media assets; and

generates format information for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the format information including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets; and

a user interface generator that generates a user interface including media asset identifiers, the media asset identifiers each identifying a respective one of the at least two media assets and being displayed in the user interface based on the format information.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller associates a media information identifier with each of the media assets, the media information identifier including data representing the determined amount of time remaining to access the media asset.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

the format information includes ordering information based on the determined amount of time remaining for each of the at least two media assets.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein

the ordering information identifies the position within the user interface for each of the at least two media assets based on the determined amount of time remaining, the ordering information positioning the media asset identifiers in one of an ascending order and descending order within the user interface.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller modifies a visual characteristic of the media asset identifiers based on the determined amount of time remaining; and

said user interface generator generates the user interface to include media asset including the modified visual characteristic.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller identifies ones of the at least two media assets having an access time that has expired as an expired media asset and determines an amount of time that has passed since expiration of access for each expired media asset to generate format information for each expired media asset based on the determined amount of time since expiration, the format information further including position data identifying a position within the user interface for each expired media asset; and said user interface generator generates a user interface based on the formatting information including the at least two media assets and the expired media assets.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein

said controller receives a signal representing a selection of the expired media asset and provides at least one term governing re-access to the expired media asset; and

said user interface generator generates a further user interface including the at least one term governing re-access enabling a user to re-access to the expired media asset upon agreement to the at least one term.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one term includes a cost for re-accessing the expired media asset, the cost being based on at least one of a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset; a predetermined discount to a price previously paid to obtain access to the media asset; and an amount of the media asset consumed prior to expiration of access time.

20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller compares the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold and generates

a first message including information identifying the

amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being below a first threshold;

a second message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold; and

a third message including information identifying the amount of time remaining in response to the comparison being above the second threshold; and further comprising a communication interface that communicates one of the first, second or third messages to a user.

21 . The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller compares the determined amount of time remaining to at least one threshold and controls said user interface generator to

modify at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a first manner in response to the comparison being below a first threshold;

modify at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a second manner in response to the comparison being between the first threshold and a second threshold; and

modify at least one visual characteristic of respective ones of the at least two media identifiers in a third manner in response to the comparison being above the second threshold.

The apparatus of claim 12, wherein

said controller periodically updates the determined amount of ti ning for each media asset.